Divided We Fall (Matthew 6:19-24)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

[Pray]

You may be seated.

And, if you are aged Kindergarten through 4th grade, Mr. Steve is in the back ready to take you to kids praise.

Parents, if you would prefer for your children to stay with you, that is perfectly acceptable.

Intro

The Lord, in His vast creativity, made some of the most interesting organisms invisible to the naked eye.

They are known as unicellular organisms and the majority of them multiply by dividing.

Some examples of these organisms are...

algae that you see floating at the top of the pond

and yeast that you put into bread.

It is completely healthy and natural for these things to split in two and keep on ticking.

It was how they were made.

Now, apply that same principle to Ben Little.

Split me in two and I’m not going anywhere.

We, as humans, were made to thrive as a single unit.

Now I know that this is not the exact intent behind the adage “united we stand, divided we fall.”

But it sheds a certain light on the truth of that idea that we ought to consider.

In our passage today, Jesus talks about treasure, eyes, and masters.

And we are going to see that,

when our pursuit, our focus, and our loyalties are divided, we have already fallen.

Specifically, Jesus is telling us that...

Divided pursuits will leave you empty (v19-21)

Divided focus will leave you blind (v22-23)

Divided allegiance is impossible (v24)

Now, speaking of divisions, this is the courtesy reminder that all of the Sermon on the Mount is one continuous teaching.

You neither can’t, nor should, take this section apart from what comes before it and after it.

Jesus transitions from addressing the disciples’ motivations, in the previous half of chapter 6, to directing their pursuits.

Remember what He said about giving, prayer, and fasting?

If practicing righteousness is solely for the applause of men, then the reward has been collected in full.

If practicing righteousness is done out of a heart of obedience, then heavenly rewards await.

If you pursue your own glory, your reward is here today, gone tomorrow.

If you pursue God’s glory, then your reward is eternal.

Now Jesus takes these exact same principles and applies them to wealth.

First, we see that....

Divided pursuits will leave you empty (v19-21)

Matthew 6:19 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

Now, do you remember who Jesus is talking to here?

He’s talking to fishermen.

He’s talking to tradesmen.

He was talking to a tax collector who did not collect a wage for his services to the Roman Empire and made a living by extorting additional funds from those being taxed.

These men are not at the top of the economic ladder.

They wore poverty like a coat.

Think how this would sound to them.

They woke up every morning with their physical needs staring them in the face.

They existed from day to day by the sweat of their brow.

The pursuit of wealth is jumping up and down and vying for their attention.

And that is the exact mindset that Jesus is challenging.

We fall into similar traps ourselves, don’t we? We pursue...

A bigger band account.

A more diverse portfolio.

The latest car, boat, gaming system, novelty item, home renovation, FILL IN THE BLANK!

But look at what Jesus says happens to these treasures.

He not only says, “don’t pursue them.”

He tells us why.

They can be destroyed, devoured, and stolen.

There is no lasting value.

The moth is an insignificant insect that you could crush between you thumb and forefinger, and yet it can destroy so much of what we hold dear.

They chew holes in clothes.

They destroy books.

They can jeopardize the integrity of wallets, purses, and money bags.

You can do everything you can possibly think of, and still these feeble destroyers cannot be 100% prevented.

They are part of the natural order.

But Jesus doesn’t just leave it with moths, He covers all the bases.

The word translated “rust” in your ESV is more accurately translated “devourer”.

And this “devourer” can come for anything.

Rust devours metal.

Locusts devour crops.

Mold devours provisions.

And if that isn’t enough to cover the gamut of possibilities,

if you are somehow able to be vigilant against moths,

if you are somehow miraculously able to keep vermin from your fields and mold from your stores,

if you are able to lay up some treasure that is magically immune to these things,

anything and everything else of possible value can be stolen.

TREASURE FROM THIS WORLD DOES NOT LAST!

It leaves you empty and scraping for more!

Ecclesiastes 5:10–11 ESV

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Treasures are enjoyed by the eyes, but never bring satisfaction to the soul.

They are seen, they are eaten, and they pass away.

Contrast Ecclesiastes 5 with Ecclesiastes 3.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 ESV

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.

What God does, what God gives, lasts.

So, what are we to do?

Matthew 6:20 ESV

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Instead of pouring yourself out in pursuit of these short-lived, meaningless treasures, your waking thoughts are to be consumed with pursuing treasures in heaven.

We should be consumed by the cultivation of spiritual fruit that identifies us with our Savior.

You know what moths and other destroyers can’t devour?

You know what can’t be stolen from you?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:23-24).

Right after these fruits of the Spirit are listed, Galatians goes on to say that when we desire these things,

when God’s pleasure is our treasure,

that our flesh is crucified alongside its passions and desires.

There is no way to divide your pursuit.

You can’t cut it both ways.

It is either one or the other.

You are either laying up treasures on earth OR in heaven.

There is no way to be content with your daily bread, provided from the very hand of your heavenly Father when our goal is to accumulate earthly treasures.

The whole point of identifying the treasure is to determine the direction of your heart.

And that direction has to be examined and challenged on a regular basis.

The Lord created the sunflower with an amazing trait.

When a sunflower is growing, the blossom tracks the sun across the sky from east to west.

This allows the plant to maximize its exposure to its life-giving rays.

And it doesn’t just do this for a day to finalize the growing process.

No, in the evening, after the sun has set, it reorients itself so that it can do the same tomorrow!

Our lives have to be like sunflowers trailing after the Sun of Righteousness day after day.

Resetting ourselves so that His glory and radiance are the focus of our attention continually.

Matthew 6:21 ESV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If your treasure is laid up with God, it is safe and lasting.

But not only that, if your treasure is laid up with God, your heart is safe with Him.

Your heart follows your treasure.

Brothers and sisters, where is your treasure?

What do you count as truly important?

What do you dream about?

Or, more importantly, what do you day-dream about?

What occupies your mind?

It is in looking at the answers to these questions that reveal where your treasure truly lies.

Are you pursuing the Lord...

with your wallet?

with your use of time?

with your relationships?

What you treasure, what you prize, dictates your pursuit.

If divided pursuits leave you empty...

Divided focus will leave you blind (v22-23)

Jesus connects the heart and the eye here.

He moves from the location and direction of the heart to the eye being the lamp o the body.

This connection is not new in Scripture.

Proverbs 4:23–25 ESV

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.

Also...

Psalm 119:36–37 ESV

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

We understand throughout Scripture that the eye informs the heart.

The eye is the window into the soul.

But a window works 2 ways.

It reveals what is outside to the inside.

If I’m standing inside, I can see it raining and grab my coat before walking to the car.

BUT the window also displays what is inside outwardly.

My neighbors can observe what I am doing just by glancing in the window as they walk by.

This is how Jesus talks about the eye here.

While Jesus specifically addresses the action and direction of the heart, He shifts His teaching to confront the status, or quality, of the eye.

Matthew 6:22–23 ESV

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

What makes an eye “healthy” or “good”?

What makes an eye “bad”?

"Evil eye” was an idiom in Jesus’ time that signified jealousy or a grudging spirit (Deut 28:54).

On the other side of the idiom, a “good eye” denoted generosity.

If you have a bad eye, you will be enviously looking at the possessions of others while hoarded treasures in your heart.

This singular focus blinds you as if you are groping about in the dark, oblivious to all else.

It blinds you to the needs of others.

It blinds you to your own needs.

Since this darkness is emanating from within, Jesus is calling us to look inward and inspect our hearts.

He is telling us to deal with what we find there because there are no shades of gray on this spectrum.

This is not a spiritual dimmer switch that can be adjusted depending on your focus.

The eye is either “good” and full of light.

Or “bad” and utterly dark.

You cannot serve the Lord effectively while your soul is gazing enviously around you.

If you have your eye focused on the blessings that He has poured out on others, your soul is pitch black.

1 Timothy 6 tells us that the desire for gain is an all-consuming trap.

1 Timothy 6:9–10 ESV

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Greed will consume and corrupt the entirety of your life.

But generosity,

living life with an open hand,

not only brings light and life to you,

but also shines the light of Christ into the world.

Matthew Henry likened our gaze and the state of our eye to that of birds.

The hawk looks down and all around for where it can get its meal.

And that meal is always at the expense of another life.

This is an eye of darkness.

We are to be like larks, beautiful songbirds that fly straight upwards in order to scatter their song over a greater distance.

Likewise, we are to generously spread the light of our Savior’s song all around us as we focus on Him, forgetting the things of the world below us.

Remember, you are a steward of the wealth God gives you.

He provides your daily bread.

You must look to His hand for providence.

Inasmuch, the possessions that you have been given are not yours!

The possessions of others around you are not theirs!

They are fellow stewards, whether they realize it or not.

To covet their portion while guarding your own misses the entire plot of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

The Lord may use a portion of what He has given you to provide for someone else.

Don’t be blinded by the darkness of trying to hold on to what you have.

Finally, we see that...

Divided allegiance is impossible (v24)

Pursuing two goals will leave you empty.

Assigning any of your focus to envy will leave you stumbling around in the darkness of covetousness.

Dividing your pursuit and your focus is unwise, unproductive, and disobedient.

But it is altogether impossible to serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

In a day where many people work two jobs, or slave away at hobbies with as much gusto as they throw into their “9 to 5”, we have to pay attention to what is being said here.

When Jesus talks about serving a “master” He is not speaking to simple servitude or employment.

The connotation here is slavery.

And being a slave is total subjugation.

This is not a both/and situation!

It’s all or nothing!

This is exactly how Paul introduces himself in the introduction of his letter to the Roman church.

Romans 1:1 ESV

Paul, a [slave] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

A slave cannot serve his or her master while also looking to the interest of another.

Love for one is hatred toward another.

Devotion to one is despising another.

And Jesus is saying that your devotion and love can be reserved for God or something else.

The ESV actually sells us short here in that the word rendered “money” is more accurately translated “mammon.”

Mammon is only used a handful of times in the whole of Scripture and it specifically refers to money or possessions.

Stuff.

Wealth.

Treasures.

Bringing everything full circle to show that our pursuit and focus on anything else we treasure is hatred towards the LORD.

The word for “master” that Jesus uses in Matthew 6 is the same one translated “LORD” in Deuteronomy 6.

Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Just as the LORD our God is one, we should have a singular devotion to Him.

What is the alternative?

How does the Lord react in His justice and righteousness to those who choose another master?

Psalm 52 tells us...

Psalm 52:5–7 ESV

But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

What you pursue,

what you trust,

what you fill your time with,

what you fix your eyes upon,

is what you will serve.

And what you serve will command you.

It will dominate you.

It will control you.

With this truth before you, what is the state of your heart?

What, or whom, are you serving?

Application

As you are asking yourselves these questions, I want to leave you with 2 ways that you can apply this passage to your life

Serve God with Everything You Have

Mammon is a cruel master.

But your money and possessions are excellent servants.

Like it or not, this world runs on currency.

Physical needs are very real.

The Lord teaches His children to be dependent on Him.

George Müller was a 19th century evangelist who ran an orphanage that cared for over 10,000 boys and girls in his lifetime.

The daily operating needs for this orphanage were never published.

Müller never sought out help in providing food, clothing, or anything else from those around him.

Instead, he rose early every morning to get down on his knees and make his requests made known to God.

Without fail, the need of the day was met.

Some days eggs were dropped off on the doorstep.

Others, milk was left on the stoop.

At times a donation for the exact amount necessary to provide education or medical essentials was pressed into his hand by a caring saint.

And Müller kept a lasting record of these answers to his prayers, pouring out continuous thanks to God.

The Lord uses mammon to serve His people in times of plenty and times of need.

You may be experiencing the care of the Father by leaning on Him for your next meal.

For the providence of your current needs.

Be like Müller and pour out those needs to Him and serve Him expectantly.

On the other hand, you may find yourself in a place of abundance this morning.

Praise the Lord!

But don’t lay them up.

Don’t let them consume your focus.

How could you use this mammon to serve His purposes today?

Constantly Evaluate Your Loyalties

You have to realize that you were made to serve a master.

You are not the master of your own fate.

God made you for Himself.

He is LORD whether you recognize Him as master or not.

And, if you don’t recognize Him as master today, one day you will.

Joshua 24:14–15 ESV

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I invite you to perform a triage of your heart this morning.

What are your pursuits?

Where is your treasure found?

What is your focus?

Are you full of the darkness of envy?

Or full of the light of generosity?

Whom do you serve?

If you have not trusted Christ as your Savior and your Lord, then you are chasing headlong after treasures, wealth, and mammon.

You may acknowledge the emptiness,

the constant pursuit with a carrot dangled right in front of your face.

But, even if you get that carrot, you are going to be hungry again tomorrow.

Turn to Christ.

Pursue Him.

Focus on Him.

Serve Him.

If you are found in Christ this morning, then you are already submitted to His Lordship.

But that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to renew your pursuit and focus.

Set your sights on Him afresh.

Acknowledge that He is the only one worthy of your loyalties.

Serve Him with everything you have.

Choose this day, who you will serve.

[PRAY]

Conclusion

Our musicians are returning to the platform to lead us in a time of dedication.

We have heard the Word of the Lord this morning and it is very much a conversation.

He speaks, we respond.

We are going to proclaim together where our worth is found.

If you have any further questions or need a pastor to pray with you, I will be by the back doors and Pastor Matt will be down front directly after the service.

Let’s stand and sing together.

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